How to Write 犍 (jiān) — Meaning “bull; ox”

Imagine a strong ox (牛) helping to "build" (建) a barn by pulling heavy logs. This picture of an ox doing construction work ties the two halves together. The sound "jiān" can be linked to the word "giant" to remember the ox's size.

Pay attention to the left radical 牛: when it is on the left, the last stroke changes from a horizontal to a rising stroke (提). The right part 建 has a long sweeping stroke (廴) that must cover the bottom of the inner component 聿; do not make this stroke too short or separate it from the rest.

犍 (jiān) means a castrated bull or ox. 牸 (zì) refers specifically to a female cow. 特 (tè) originally meant a male bull but is now almost always used to mean "special" or "unusual." Visually, all have the 牛 radical, but 牸 has a 子 component and 特 has a 寺 component.

犍 is a fairly rare character, mainly used in agricultural or veterinary contexts to refer to a castrated bull (犍牛, jiān niú). It also appears in the place name 犍为 (Qiánwéi), a county in Sichuan province, where the pronunciation changes to Qián. Outside of these uses, learners rarely encounter it.

Common words containing 犍 include: 犍牛 (jiān niú) — bullock; ox; 犍子 (jiān zi) — bullock; steer; 犍 (jiān) — bull; ox.